RONIN
the white knight
While second!Ronin corrals the soldiers and helps to organise the driftwood and stormfall, breaking larger pieces into more manageable ones with disgusting ease, the original stays before Flora and doesn't try to fill the silence in the wake of his apology. He lets it stretch for as long as she needs it to, and if she had opted to keep needling him about it, they both know he'd have taken the verbal lashing with grace.
Instead, her lip puckers out in a way that reminds him of when she was small and he was still being an asshole, and despite himself, Ronin smiles at her. "Yes," he says, and he means it. "I absolutely would. And because I didn't say it to you before - congratulations, Flora. Being chosen in that way is a huge responsibility, but it's also a sign that the gods know you're just as special as we always did. And while you're a big bad demigod in your own right now, I hope you know Remi and I will still open jars and build shelves for you if you need us."
Instead, her lip puckers out in a way that reminds him of when she was small and he was still being an asshole, and despite himself, Ronin smiles at her. "Yes," he says, and he means it. "I absolutely would. And because I didn't say it to you before - congratulations, Flora. Being chosen in that way is a huge responsibility, but it's also a sign that the gods know you're just as special as we always did. And while you're a big bad demigod in your own right now, I hope you know Remi and I will still open jars and build shelves for you if you need us."
